inherit land

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “inherit land” in various forms in English is translated in Kwere as “take land to be their own” or similar in these verses when Israel or a part of Israel “inherits” land from God. In Kwere, uhazi or “inheritance,” as in possessions etc. can only be received upon someone’s death. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

gentiles / nations

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

Translation commentary on Judith 8:22

The slaughter of our brethren and the captivity of the land: Slaughter is connected to our brethren (New Revised Standard Version “our kindred,” Good News Translation “our people”) and captivity to the land. Captivity is a word more appropriate for the taking of captives into exile than for the military occupation of a country, so Good News Translation has “slaughter and captivity of our people” and New English Bible “slaughter and deportation of our fellow-countrymen.” We may also use verbal expressions for slaughter and captivity as follows: “the enemy will kill our people and take them captive to a foreign land.”

The desolation of our inheritance: Our inheritance means “our land.” Desolation of the land may refer to its depopulation or to its being laid waste (Good News Translation “destruction”) or both.

He will bring upon our heads among the Gentiles: The clause he will bring upon our heads is used in the Greek of Jdg 9.57. It appears in the middle of the verse, but Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version move it to the beginning of the verse. Good News Translation has “He will hold us responsible,” and Contemporary English Version “He will punish us.” For Gentiles see 4.12.

We shall be an offense and a reproach in the eyes of those who acquire us: New English Bible makes those who acquire us the subject of this clause by translating “Our masters will regard us with disgust and contempt.” An offense is something that is disgusting; a reproach is something contemptible. Good News Translation turns the nouns offense and reproach into verbs: “We will be despised and mocked.” “Mocked” is not as good a choice as “scorned” for reproach. One might translate “We will be slaves, and the people who own us will treat us with disgust and contempt [or, scorn].”

The structure of the complicated sentence in this verse reads like this in Greek:

The slaughter … captivity … desolation … he will bring on our heads among the nations wherever we will be slaves there and we will be an offense and reproach before our owners.

One can see from this that Good News Translation, although considerably reordered, has all the ideas, and has them smoothly expressed. Another alternative translation model for this verse is:

• He will hold us responsible for the slaughter and captivity of our people, and for the destruction of this land we call our own. Foreigners who take us off to their own countries as their slaves will despise and mock us.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.